


Adjustments

by Zaniida



Series: Creepyfest AUs [6]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: 5MI, Alternate Universe - SCP Foundation (Fusion), Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Creepyfest, FMI, Five Moments of Intimacy, Gen, Libraries Are Full of Knowledge, Libraries Are Powerful, Q.E.D. - Freeform, knowledge is power
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27208648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaniida/pseuds/Zaniida
Summary: As Nathan adjusts to being a living chalk drawing, he finds an unexpected ally that not even Harold can make use of in quite the same way.
Relationships: Harold Finch & Nathan Ingram, Nathan Ingram & The Library
Series: Creepyfest AUs [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1098744
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5
Collections: August Intimacy - September Stragglers 2020





	Adjustments

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stingalingaling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stingalingaling/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Take Care of the Unseen Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16156940) by [Zaniida](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaniida/pseuds/Zaniida). 



> Happy birthday, Stingalingaling! (Slightly belated.) I hope things are going well for you this month. Incidentally, the title of this fic is, by way of phonemes, a reference to [Gestures](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16425350) ^_^
> 
> Originally, I had decided not to write any of the side fics myself, but apparently my self-control is insufficient to wait around for someone to pick up this idea. Hence: The travails of Nathan now that he's no longer in human form. But this should be less dramatic than the main fic, so, while it's not exactly cuddly, it's more comforting. I hope.
> 
> As per usual, I have no idea how often this might get updated.

The first few days were the hardest, for two reasons:

First, because Harold barely interacted with him, too busy doing everything in his power to research the original effect and figure out some way to reverse it. _(Nathan suspected this to be futile—the Foundation’s data on recovering from anomalous effects was an unpleasantly thin file—but he didn’t push the point; Harold needed enough time to come to grips with this new reality.)_

Secondly, because when Harold _did_ talk to him, it was all apologies and self-recriminations and promises to find a way to fix things, and none of it helped Nathan, and Harold’s guilt spilled out of him so readily that Nathan could barely have gotten a word in edgewise even if he’d still been able to talk.

It was frustrating, having to write things out across the page. Smartphones had been a godsend for the guys who got frustrated by pens, but here he was, a drawing on a piece of yellowed parchment, making his wishes known by making marks on paper. Or, when Harold was actually watching, by forming his body into letters, which was at least a little faster.

Given the Library’s attitude toward unnecessary noise, a radio was out of the question, and Nathan was not the type to appreciate reading subtitles. An auto-scrolling eBook worked a little better, briefly, before Nathan got frustrated with the total lack of control, and _more_ frustrated when he couldn’t quickly express to Harold that he needed to be able to pause and backtrack.

Then Harold brought in an armful of books on American Sign Language, and that, at least, was something useful. On the bookshelf across from Nathan’s wall, Harold set up a dozen books, mostly aimed at kids, and then he went back to his studies. Leaving Nathan to internalize a lot of words that start with A: Apple _(rubbing his knuckle into his cheek)_ , Aunt _(a fist by his chin)_ , Alligator (that one, at least, was fun to make).

None of them particularly useful, but they at least took the edge off the boredom. Maybe he could write a story about someone’s aunt riding an alligator.

Harold returned every hour to flip all the pages, giving Nathan a new set to memorize. Which left him staring at a dozen pages long after they had ceased to offer anything of interest.

And then, a few hours later, Harold went to bed, leaving Nathan with a wall full of L’s: Ladder, Lamp, Listen, Love. Library. He went through them all, having nothing better to do with his time _(chalk drawings, it turned out, couldn’t fall asleep even if they wanted to, and time ticked away like a mandatory board meeting that even the founder of the company couldn’t skip)_.

And then, as he made the sign for “Library” one more time, the bookshelf moved closer.

Nathan blinked at it.

The Library could move at will, that much had been obvious from the day they’d found it, but it never let anyone _see_ it move. Not even Harold, who seemed to be its favorite person in the whole world. But when Nathan made the sign again, the bookshelf moved in even closer, and rose up to be eye level with where he was pinned to the wall.

 _Hello_ , he waved hesitantly, not thinking what else to do. Then he glanced down at the shelf below the ASL setup, and noticed books ruffling into place: a selection of ASL textbooks.

Not kids’ books. Textbooks.

 _Book_ , he signed with both hands, and he could’ve sworn the bookcase stood at attention, like some puppy eager to be thrown a stick.

Then (because why not?) he pointed.

Nathan’s nights became a good deal more interesting than his days. The Library still hid its capabilities when Harold was around, but once Nathan was the only viewer, he could ask after a topic, any topic at all, whether by sign or by fingerspelling, and the Library would provide. The treasure trove of its knowledge was at his disposal, and it made no judgment on the contents: fine art, television shows, the history of swear words, scantily clad ladies.

It even turned the pages for him.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm torn on whether this counts as Secret Sharing (since Harold doesn't get to see the Library move) or on Vulnerability (since Nathan has to rely on the actions of others), or maybe both. I hope to cover all the FMI categories, but not yet sure how that'll play out. Anyway, I'm off to fix up other projects! Ciao!


End file.
